Cherry Cobbler
This Cherry Cobbler has a juicy cherry filling and a sweet biscuit topping. I love to serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Cherry Cobbler with Biscuit Topping
Last weekend Brad and I took the kids cherry picking at a local farm. It was lots of fun and we came home with 13 pounds of cherries! We’ve been snacking on fresh cherries every day, I made a Cherry Pie, and I baked this delicious cherry cobbler. It is such a treat!
I love that this cobbler is so simple to make and that it highlights the sweet juiciness of fresh cherries. The cherry filling is made with only 4 ingredients to let the flavor of the fresh cherries shine. The biscuit topping is slightly sweet, crisp on the edges and tender in the middle. Served warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this cobbler is a dessert you’ll swoon over!
Easy Ways to Pit Cherries
Many years ago I bought this inexpensive cherry pitter and I don’t know what I’d do without it. It makes the task of pitting cherries so easy! I highly recommend getting one if you don’t have one.
Without a cherry pitter, you can pit cherries by cutting them in half around the pit with a small paring knife and pulling the pit out with your fingers. Or, you can push a chopstick through the center of each cherry to gently press the pit out.
Cherry Cobbler Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need for this cherry cobbler recipe. Find the full recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Cherry Cobbler Filling
- Fresh Cherries: After pitting the cherries, I cut them in half. This way you can check for any pits that may not have been removed.
- Sugar: You can use more or less sugar depending on how sweet your cherries are.
- Cornstarch: To thicken up the filling. I only use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch because I prefer the filling a little juicy.
- Vanilla: Adds an extra touch of warm sweetness
Cobbler Topping
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour.
- Sugar: Just 1/3 cup of granulated sugar makes the biscuits slightly sweet.
- Baking Powder: Makes the biscuits rise as they bake.
- Cinnamon: Adds warmth and flavor.
- Salt: Enhances all of the flavors.
- Butter: Adds richness and creates tender, flaky biscuits.
- Buttermilk: To bring the dough together. I like using buttermilk because it adds flavor and tenderness to the topping, but you can substitute whole milk if that’s all you have on hand.
- Vanilla: Adds warmth and additional sweetness to the biscuits.
- Coarse Sugar: I like to sprinkle coarse sugar (turbinado sugar) on top of the biscuits before baking the cobbler. It adds sweetness and a slight crunchy texture.
Freeze and Grate the Butter for the Best Biscuit Topping
I use the same trick to make the cherry cobbler topping that I use when I make biscuits and scones: I freeze the butter, then grate it and stir it into the dry ingredients. This does two things:
- It ensures that small pieces of cold butter are evenly distributed throughout the biscuit topping to create flakiness.
- It saves me the effort of working the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender, which is one of my least favorite kitchen tasks.
How to Make Cherry Cobbler
Freeze the butter for at least 30 minutes.
Make the cherry filling by stirring together the cherries, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla.
Make the cobbler topping. First, stir together they dry ingredients. Then grate the frozen butter and stir it in. Finally, mix together the buttermilk and vanilla and stir them into the dry ingredients until a dough starts to form.
Assemble the cobbler. Pour the cherry filling and all of the juices from the bowl into the baking dish. It’s important to add the juices because that’s where most of the cornstarch and sugar are at this point.
Add the topping. Divide the cobbler dough into 9 portions. Flatten each portion slightly so that it is about ¾-inch thick and place on top of the cherry filling. Don’t worry about making the dough pieces perfectly round, the cobbler is supposed to look a bit rustic. Lightly sprinkle the top with sugar, if desired.
Bake, until the filling is very bubbly and the topping is golden brown and cooked through.
Can You Use Frozen Cherries?
I’ve tested this recipe with frozen cherries, and they work fine, as long as you completely thaw them. If the cherries are at all frozen, they will increase the cobbler baking time drastically, and you’ll have a hard time getting the topping to cook through.
I recommend fully thawing the cherries in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, and then letting the thawed cherries sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes to take the chill off of them before baking. Drain off any accumulated juices from the thawed cherries before adding the other filling ingredients.
Making Cobbler with Other Fruits
This fresh fruit cobbler recipe is adaptable to use other fruits. Blackberries would work wonderfully in this recipe. Or try my recipes for Blueberry Cobbler, Peach Cobbler and Apple Cobbler.
More Fresh Fruit Desserts
Homemade Cherry Cobbler
Ingredients
Cherry Cobbler Filling
- 1 ½ pounds fresh cherries, about 5 cups, pitted and halved
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cobbler Topping
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- coarse (turbinado) sugar or granulated sugar, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Place the 5 tablespoons of butter for the cobbler topping in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease an 8×8 or 9×9-inch baking dish.
- Make the cherry cobbler filling: In a large bowl, combine the cherries, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla extract. Use a rubber spatula to mix gently until combined. Set aside while you prepare the topping.
- Make the topping: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until well combined. Use a box grater to grate the frozen butter, then add it to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Stir in the grated butter with a fork.
- In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, stir together the buttermilk and vanilla. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and use a fork to mix until the dough comes together. The dough will be somewhat dry, but it should come together after some mixing.
- Stir the cherry mixture again to make sure everything is well combined. Pour the cherries and all juices from the bowl into the prepared baking dish. Divide the cobbler dough into 9 portions. Flatten each portion slightly so that it is about ¾-inch thick and place on top of the cherry filling. The dough pieces do not need to be perfectly round; the cobbler will have a somewhat rustic look to it. Lightly sprinkle the top with sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the filling is very bubbly and the topping is golden brown and cooked through.
- Let cobbler cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- To make cobbler with frozen cherries: Completely thaw frozen cherries (if they are at all frozen the topping will not bake through properly). Then let them sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes to take the chill off of them before using in the recipe. Follow the rest of the recipe as written. If the frozen cherries are still very cold when you put the cobbler in the oven, you may need to bake it for longer.
- Cobbler is best served the day it is made, but leftover cobbler can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
thanks mam Kristine for the recipe more powers to you GODBLESS
This was truly simple and delicious! My family fought over it! I used frozen organic cherries, and they worked well- I fully defrosted them before cooking, as your recipe recommended. Thank you!
I’m so glad that your family enjoyed this so much! Thank you for your review and for sharing how the frozen cherries worked for you.